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A&E and ESCU experience after NYE accident

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"A&E and ESCU experience after NYE accident"

About: Manchester Royal Infirmary

My partner broke his ankle whilst a little worse for where on NYE - stupid we know! It took 3 calls to 999 to finally get an ambulance out, he was on the pavement in the wet for 2 hours on a very cold wet. Got to A&E around 3am, seems a very grubby and old part of the hospital, we were in assessment room with another guy who was wired up to monitors, nobody came in for maybe 4 hours, I couldn't get help from nurses so pain relief wasn't offered to either patient for this whole time, I had to beg a plastic cup from a Nurse and all 3 of use shared it to get a drink from the tap. I had to help the other patient as he kept needing to urinate and there was only me willing to help him - it really was grim! It was 11.41pm the next day when my partner was officially admitted to ESCU, even there the ward staff had little time for anyone and pain relief had to be asked for by him a number of times while he waited for a slot for surgery. What was also horrendous was that we live 1.5 hours from Manchester and as his mobile was flat myself and his mother was reliant on the ward phone number we were given, the phone often went unanswered only got picked up when someone went to dial out which would indicate the ringer was turned off, on top of that was the quibbling that he should be using patientline! the guy is laid up with a smashed ankle, I am 1.5 hours away and can't just pop to visit and he has no money with him - £5 for 3 hours is too unaffordable anyway, he was in 3 days so you are talking on nigh on £200! This hospital is dangerously understaffed and overstretched it needs serious investment! He never saw a doctor once on the ward everything done via nurses and now 2 days after discharge and after leaving repeated messages the orthopaedic secretary just will not answer or phone back to tell him who he needs to contact at our local hospital for his follow up care! Why was this not arranged for him? what about elderly confused patients etc? This hospital is grim!

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Responses

Response from Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 8 years ago
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 29/10/2015 at 09:51
Published on Care Opinion at 12:00

Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to learn that your experience was not as positive as we expect on ESTU. We were particularly concerned to read that you felt your partner’s pain relief was not managed well and that you and your family had difficulty contacting the ward. We were also disappointed to learn that his discharge arrangements were unsatisfactory. It is important to us that comments are heard and seen as an opportunity provided to the service to make changes and improvements wherever possible. In response to your comments your concerns have also been raised with the staff on ESTU to help ensure that other patients do not have the same experience.

Thank you for your comments regarding the negative experience that you had in the Emergency Department on New Years Eve. It is very disheartening to hear that you were treated in this manner, as this is not the standard of care that we expect for our patients and visitors. We would like to apologise for this delay in provision of care assessment and pain relief.

The Trust emphasise, to all disciplines of staff, the importance of good communication and this is embedded within the core beliefs and values of the Trust. I can confirm that the Trust has introduced training sessions for staff in all wards around their values and behaviours and this incorporates how we communicate with our patients and keep them informed.

This work is on going across all areas of the Trust, including the Emergency Department.

The work is led by the Education and Development Practitioners and senior nursing staff with the purpose of emphasising to staff how their behaviours impact on patients and their families and the importance of listening and responding to patient’s needs.

If you would like to discuss your experience with us in more detail, please contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 0161 276 8686 or by e-mailing pals@cmft.nhs.uk

The Patient Experience Team

Central Manchester University Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust

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